[Jewelry making - Article 00160] - Re: [Orchid] Still can't solder right

[Elaine Luther]

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>     I promise I won't ask any more questions about this topic. I don't
>     want to get on anybody's nerves, 

    I wouldn't have noticed that you're asking a lot of questions if you
    hadn't pointed it out.

>     I did what everyone said and it still flows around the joint. One
>     of the joints that I tried on a practice ring had some solder in
>     the middle of it, but it wasn't covering the whole area of the
>     joint. 

    Huh? Okay, I think I've got it. 

    The most common problem in soldering is UNeven heating. In a ring,
    often that means all the solder goes to one side of the ring (the
    hot side). Since your solder is in the center of the joint, that
    means your heating must be reasonably good. You're just not getting
    it to spread out. 

    Couple of ideas: 

    - use a soldering pick and while the solder is molten, spread it out
    across the whole seam. (not pretty, but it works for beginners) 

    - use the torch flame to "push" the molten solder to the ends of the
    ring joint. 

    - the last possibility is that you're just not using enough solder,
    but it sounds like you would have thought of that. 

    I wouldn't change flux. Stick with what you're comfortable with.
    Don't go adding new variables. Soldering just takes a long time to
    learn, esp. without someone to sit next to you and guide you. 

    Hope that helps. 

Elaine

Elaine Luther
Metalsmith, Certified PMC Instructor
http://www.CreativeTextureTools.com (TM)
Hard to Find Tools for Metal Clay


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